The Inexplicable
by buddyBatmanWW
Summary: Featuring Longshadow's days in the League. I haven't really watched the episode or tried to dig deeper into it, but just though exploring the love triangle would be fun. Bruce and Diana are in love. Diana is affectionate towards Long Shadow, and he mistakes it for Love. Bruce has his own interests in Longshadow, something someone is counting on to cripple the league. Read along...
1. Chapter 1

_Long Shadow_

He was living his dream. He did not know how long he had, but he did know that he needed to make every moment count. And he had the opportunity to do that; something which the others did not. He recollected the events of that fateful day when Amanda Waller had put an end to everything he believed about himself. His jaw clenched at the thought of his being a clone, a mere weapon. He would have been disposed of once his usefulness was over.

But then, an angel had rescued him from the clutches of Waller; _Wonder Woman_. His thoughts lingered on her. She was the one who had persuaded the league to take him in. To the rest of the league, he was merely an addition to the team, a temporary addition. To her, he hoped, he was more. To him, she definitely was.

"Longshadow," came her unmistakable voice from behind, friendly, as always, "what are you doing here?"

"Di…Wonder Woman. How are you?" He asked, stifling a grin.

"Oh, please, call me Diana. Everyone does." She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Don't you have a training to attend?"

"Ah, the training," he sighed. "Do I have to?"

"It's a part of our daily routine," Diana shrugged. "And you know how Batman feels about bunking the training session."

_Batman!_…he gulped slightly. He had never been very comfortable around him. Diana had said it was natural; Batman didn't like anyone getting too comfortable around him. Still, there was something about him that made him a little too uncomfortable. _It was not his icy cold glare _- he said to himself.  
>"Well, all I need to do is clear some obstacle courses and kick some mechanical contraptions, and I never miss," he said.<p>

"I know," she smiled, "And I am very proud of you. You are very natural at it, just like Batman."

"You think?" his face beamed.

"Yes, I do. In fact, I think you are his favorite."

_Batman's favorite_ - he considered that - _Now that was definitely something to brag about, if only it were true._  
>"He doesn't show it though."<p>

"He is like that." she said, "You'll understand once you get to know him better."

He sighed  
>"Well, can't wait!"<p>

Diana slapped his wrist playfully and he flinched.  
>"You should get going. If he knows that it was I who delayed you, I will be up for some serious trouble."<p>

He chuckled.  
>"Ah, comm'on, now you're exaggerating."<p>

Diana joined the chuckle.  
>"No I'm not exaggerating. You should see how him when he's annoyed. Not even Superman can dare to cross him."<br>"What?" he frowned.

"Oh, nothing," she regretted having made that statement. It was inappropriate to undermine Superman. His inaction under such circumstances was attributed to his respect for Batman rather than intimidation.

"See, I told you are exaggerating."

"Yes, yes," Diana nodded, "I guess I am. Anyway, you better get going unless you want to hear a half an hour lecture from him on punctuality."


	2. Chapter 2

The training bay was fuller than usual. The trainees usually trained in batches, so there were not more than five at a time using the area. But today, there were as many as twenty five.

"Hello kid," came a voice from behind him.

"Green Lantern!" he was awed, "I never got to see you after my first day here."

"Ha ha! You'll get to see me a lot around from now on," he smiled, "I am going to be your trainer here going forward."

"What about Batman?" came the voice of Wonder Woman even before he could breathe out a sigh of relief.

"He was the one who suggested it. He just walked up to me and said – _Lantern, would you like to take over for me?_, and I said ,_Sure_"

"That's it?" she frowned.

"Well you know him. He is not much for probing. And I love working with the new recruits."

"Of course," she smiled. "So, I trust there is a meet and greet today?"

GL laughed. "Not really. I just thought that we should take the things up a notch with these kids. You can call it, _A surprise test_" he winked at Long Shadow.

He gulped visibly.  
>"A surprise test?"<p>

"Don't worry, kid. Batman says you shouldn't have a problem with that." GL said, "You are one of his top students, I believe."

"I don't know about that," he laughed nervously, "he…never told me anything of that sort."

"He never does, that's him!" GL pressed the other's shoulder, "See you on the field."

Batman was on the field too, running through a deck of flash cards with Superman. The sight of the World's finest standing together was awe-inspiring for the new recruits. The founding members of the league were demigods to them.

"All right, everyone, line up. We'll start in a few minutes." announced GL. Superman walked away from the field and took his designated seat. Batman seemed to take no notice of the other's departure, he was busy shuffling the deck he had with him.

Long shadow took his usual position. Diana left for her seat beside Superman.

"I'm glad you could make it," Superman said in a low whisper.

"Are you?" she frowned.

"Yes, that saves me the pain of having to fight my cousin."

"Fight?" her eyes widened. "Are we going to fight them?"

"Yes," Superman said, "I just came to know about it myself."

"This isn't right," she began to rise. But she found a strong grip on her shoulder, firmly pushing her down.

"Take it easy princess," came the deep baritone, "you would not fight them in literal sense. You are just going to train with them."

She wanted to protest but his touch had already made her lost some of her senses. Only he was capable of doing that to her.  
>"And nice to see you too, Batman." she mocked, after regaining her composure.<p>

He relaxed his grip.  
>"You are going to go with Supergirl and GL will go with Long shadow."<p>

"What about the others," she said, eyeing the cards in his hands.

"They will go through their usual training." he said.

"Why the change of plans?" Superman asked, "I thought you were going with Long shadow."

"Lantern wanted to take on him," he said, "and I didn't deny."

"Why?" Diana smiled, "Because he is your best pupil?"

He frowned. "It is not so, Princess. What made you think so?"

"He is the best of the lot, certainly," she argued, "I have seen him in action."

"Sure he performs better than many others," he said, "but he still has a long way to go."

Diana looked disappointed.  
>"It won't hurt you to give out some appreciation once in a while, you know." she muttered.<p>

Batman remained silent for a moment. He then threw a puzzled glance at Superman.  
>"Do you know what she's talking about?"<p>

"Don't drag me into this?" he said defensively.

Diana sighed  
>"May be it is just as well that John replaced you."<p>

He let that go unheard and took his seat on the other side of Superman.


	3. Chapter 3

**"All right, Super Girl, you're up. Remember, if you use your heat vision or if you fly, you will be disqualified immediately. It's all about regular defense and attack strategies. You may use your super-strength, because you are going to face the Wonder Woman."**

Diana stood up to the cue and there was a round of applause from the trainees. Superman joined them after a moment, but Batman remained passive.

"Just try to avert her in the first round and disarm her in the second round, nothing fancy, please. We count on you to not hurt her." he said as she stepped forward.

She turned around and glared at him. But even the harshest of her glares could not move the man. She turned to Superman.  
>"Don't worry; I won't hurt your cousin."<p>

"Why me!" Superman muttered, avoiding making an eye contact with either of them.

The contestants took their positions. Batman rose in his place to announce the rules.  
>"Each of the contestants is given a blunt sword. The objective of the attacker is to disarm the defender, while the objective of the defender is to avert the attacker. You are not supposed to physically harm each other in anyway. Each round lasts for five minutes, broken up into two pieces of 2 min and 3 min each. My advice, watch your opponent for the first two minutes and strike the very next second."<p>

"I really wonder why he wants us to play these lame games," Supergirl mumbled, "I am sure we can take real swords."

"It's not about the swords, Supergirl," Diana said calmly, "it's all about you and your opponent. Here you don't fear injury to yourself, you fear hurting your opponent. It's all about focus and self-control."

"You speak like him," she groaned.

"Well, I guess…" she paused and smiled deviously as the signal rang, "it's your turn."

"Wonder Woman wins." GL announced. Diana was able to stand the whole of first round without being disarmed, but not without difficulty. Supergirl did have a few tricks of her own, may be her trainer's. In the second round, it took till the last minute for Diana to disarm her opponent. The last stroke was her power stroke, something which she did not imagine that she would need to use.

"She did pretty well," Batman nodded.

"Who, Diana?" Superman frowned.

"No, your cousin. It wasn't easy to withstand the power stroke."

"Oh," Superman nodded. "Do you have a counter for that?"

"May be," he sighed and crossed his arms.

_Second round_  
>GL and Long Shadow took their places<p>

**"You two don't have swords, you have blunt javelins instead. The objective remains the same but the difficulty increases. The objective of the attacker is not to disarm but to merely touch his opponent with his javlin. Of course the other end of it must remain in the attacker's hand. The time blocks remain the same."**

Long shadow had difficulty in forming his attack. He tried to swing his weapon in all possible directions and GL seemed to have no difficulty in anticipating his moves and blocking him. It came down to the last minute when GL slightly mis-judged the curvature of the rotation of the javelin and his elbow came into contact with it.

"Yes!" Diana hissed.

"He just got lucky." Batman said bluntly.

Diana glared at him.  
>"He is good, admit it."<p>

The second round began and Long shadow successfully averted GL for the first two minutes. In the second time block, it got harder for him and GL practiced slashing technique, covering his entire length in one blow. Long shadow had to take long strides backwards to avert the tip of the javelin. Eventually GL brought the blunt end on his forehead, but he was late by 2 seconds.

"Long Shadow wins," he announced. "Well done, kid!"

Diana rose from her seat and clapped for him. Superman nodded at him in appreciation, but Batman remained indifferent.

"The others will continue their routine training," GL announced and there was a mixture of relief and disappointment in the sighs that followed. The trinity rose from their seats.

"May I have a minute, Batman," came a shrill shriek as they began to leave. It was Long Shadow. He could not believe he sounded like that and convulsively brought his hand to his mouth.

Batman turned around momentarily, and then turned away.

After a second, when Long Shadow realized that it he was leaving, he said more confidently, "May I have the honor to take on you, Sir."

There was a collective gasp amongst the recruits. Batman thrust a glance in that direction and the gasp faded away quickly.

"Why?" he asked coldly.

"Dia…Wonder Woman told me that I am a natural, like you. And…"

He cut him off curtly, "Long Shadow, you just got lucky today. Don't press it any further."

There was another gasp, which Batman did not care to subside. He turned around to walk away, but he found a grip on his elbow.

"That was uncalled for, Batman" came Diana's voice. "You can't merely throw statements like that in thin air and expect others to accept them."

"I know him, Diana," he said impatiently, "and I know where he stands. I don't have to prove it to anyone."

"You have to," she snapped back. "And even if you don't want to, you must give him a chance to take on you, given the nature of your statement."

"You are blowing this out of proportion," Batman responded gruffly. "If he wants to prove himself, let him take on Superman. If he can beat Superman, he can beat me."

Diana was not ready to lose this one.  
>"He has beat GL, and I am sure you agree that anyone who beats GL can beat you too."<p>

"He just got lucky." He retorted.

"Well he cannot get lucky twice now, can he? _You must fight him._"

"I don't have time for this, Diana," he swirled around and Diana lost her grip. But she caught up to his cape immediately.

"You're staying here, Batman. And you are going to give him a fair chance to prove himself."

Batman sighed. He knew that there was no getting out of this one. She was never this insistent on something. And when she was, she acted every bit like the Amazonian princess she was.

"I don't know what you want to prove," he glowered at Long Shadow, "but let's get this over with."

Long Shadow gulped, regretting having brought it up. The argument between the two disturbed him and the others quite a bit. He could sense disapproval in Superman's eyes and an undoubted frustration in that of Batman's. But there was no backing out now.

"I'll let you go first," he said as they took their positions.

Batman glowered at him and then at Diana.  
>"So be it."<p>

Long shadow did not find it very difficult to keep up for the first two minutes. Batman would miss him by considerable margin and his attacks were more spaced that that of GL's and more distributed when it came to attack zone.

"Well done so far," Batman gave a curt nod at the end of two minutes.

Long Shadow spoke more easily, his initial apprehensions wearing off.  
>"You're going too easy on me, Batman. Don't worry, I can take you."<p>

"We'll see about that."

The second round commenced, and even before Long shadow could blink, he found the cane pressed against his left oblique.

"2 minutes and 0.1 second" GL announced.

Long shadow stared blankly at his opponent's cane. Batman had the pointed end of the javelin towards himself and it was the cane part which had hit him. Either way, he had clearly touched him, so the round was over. All through the first round, he had his eyes fixed on the pointed end of the javelin as he planned his defense. So when the tip actually moved away from him in the second round, he impulsively lunged forward and found himself in contact with the other end.

Batman's words rang in his ears.  
><em>"Watch the opponent for the first 2 minutes and strike the very next second."<em>  
>So he was just observing him all this time. He felt abashed. Batman was right – he did have a long way to go.<p>

"Your turn," came his opponent's voice. His face showed no expression, although Long Shadow felt that he saw a glint in his eye, the - _I told you so_ look.

He took a deep breath and nodded. He had to beat 2 min and 1 sec.

But Batman cleanly averted his attacks. The first two minutes was hopeless, his javelin was nowhere close to his body.

"Long shadow, look into my eyes, not my feet," Batman said, after the first time block. However he did not pay any attention to it. He had a strategy in his mind, he would go for the sweep as GL did, but he would use the whole cane and not just the tip. That way, blocking the cane on the upper side would bend the lower part enough to make contact and vice-versa. However, that wasn't helping in Batman's case as he matched his cane with Long Shadow's and cut him off perpendicularly if he got any closer.

"Focus, Long Shadow, you are becoming too predictable. You are not looking at my defense at all; it is a very basic strategy. Anticipate the angle of my defense and tilt your cane in the right direction." Came another instruction from Batman, and again it was ignored. He was becoming increasingly desperate to end this and having to take instructions from his opponent was adding to his frustration.

"Not the feet," Batman was growing impatient, "Try concentrating on my arms, their range of motion is restricted by the cane."

Long shadow did the exact opposite.

**"5 minutes down, Batman wins"**

It wasn't the announcement brought him back to senses, it was the fury in the eyes of his opponent.

"Can't you hear me?" he said gruffly, grabbing the tip of his javelin, "Block – tilt – arm touch" he touched it on his arm. "Why were you so hell bent on hitting my feet when I was telling you that it was of no use? Why were to hell bent on denying the intructions?"

"I had my strategy," he retorted.

"And what was it?" Batman growled, "were you trying to trip me over? Couldn't you see that I was concentrating on moving my feet so much that I left almost the entire upper body exposed? It was too easy to read your mind after the first round and you should've taken that as an advantage to surprise me by changing your attack pattern. I was trying to hint that you but you just wouldn't listen. _Look into the opponent's eyes; they are the key to his mind, not his feet._"

There was a silence for a moment. Diana seized the opportunity to take control.  
>"Batman, that's enough. You have proved your point. Now let go of it."<p>

"Stay out of this, Diana," Batman scowled, "I am talking to him."

Diana took a step back involuntarily, her eyes wide in horror. Batman realized his mistake almost immediately.

But something snapped within Long Shadow.  
>"I do not need to follow your stupid strategies." He shouted, his voice quivering with excitement, "Strategies are for the weak. I can crush my opponent anytime I want."<p>

**"Shut up, Ja…"**  
>And he stopped. He stood there, disoriented, staring wide-eyed, from Long Shadow to Diana and back.<p>

_Strategies are for the weak! _

The cane slipped away from his hand and he gulped convulsively. Memories buried deep in his mind surfaced at an overwhelming rate.

"Batman, let's go," Superman interjected, "that's enough for one day."

He turned around slowly, breathing heavily, face covered in perspiration, not from the physical exertion but from something which snapped within him. He left silently, amidst the murmuring.


	4. Chapter 4

He headed straight to his quarters, and Superman followed him. Diana however decided to stay back with Long Shadow. The others dispersed too.

"I am sorry, Diana, I…I just got too carried away," Long Shadow said after he regained enough composure to speak.

"He gets to your nerves; I don't blame you," Diana sighed, "but today, I think even he got carried away."

"I had a strategy, believe me I did," he said earnestly, "it worked on Green Lantern, but may be Batman could read my mind."

"Let it go," she said peevishly, "you go get some rest."

Long Shadow stood silent for a moment and considered her. She was not with him, her mind was still on the happening.

"Do you think he'll ever forgive me?" he said slowly.

"For what?"

"For…the entire _crush the opponent _part. I…didn't mean him. I just, something snapped in me when he spoke like that… to you."

"To me?" Diana frowned.

"When he snapped at you," he said, "and I just couldn't take it."

Diana put a hand on his cheek.  
>"It's ok; he didn't mean to insult me. It's his nature."<p>

"I don't think that is an excuse." Long Shadow glowered.

Diana smiled weakly and patted his cheek.  
>"Go get some rest."<br>She began to walk away.

"So, will you go talk to him?" he asked, as she reached the threshold.

She turned around briefly and smiled.  
>"I guess I will."<p>

/iIn Batman's quarters/i

"Are you ok?"

Batman breathed purposefully and let it out through his lips in a small whistle. He had been sitting with palm against his forehead.

"I will be fine," he said, "he… just pressed the right button."

Superman considered. He knew what he meant.  
>"You were going to say Jason, weren't you?"<p>

He remained silent, his thoughts drifting back to the training.  
><em>Strategies are for the weak! <em>

Superman began to say _It's ok_ when but was cut off by the other's reverie.  
>"Our training sessions usually ended this way." He said.<p>

Superman simply nodded. He had to let it out.  
>"It was my fault." he whispered, "I shouldn't have let…".<p>

"I am glad you admit," came Diana's voice.

"Diana, now is not the time," Superman interjected, "we were not discussing Long Shadow."

"Then who were you discussing about?" she demanded.

"It's none of your business, Princess," Batman rose, "I'd appreciate if you defer your concerns."

"You don't have to be so arrogant, Bruce," she said, "What happened today is not healthy for the team."

"What is not?" he demanded, "I was only asking him to -"

"He knows what to do," she said, "and if he needs your advice, he will come to you. You cannot impose yourself onto him. **_He is not…one of your Robins._**"

"Enough!" he said gruffly and raised his arm, "That's enough. Just…leave me alone."

And he stormed of the room, leaving the other two bewildered.

Diana was the first to recover.  
>"What's with him?"<p>

Superman sighed.  
>"You should know. Why did you have to bring up the Robins?"<p>

"What is wrong with that?" she retorted, "He was treating Long Shadow as if he was one of his Robins. He needs to understand that not everyone would be up for that kind of a treatment. It better be me who breaks it to him that someone else."

"You don't understand do you?" he snapped.

"Don't understand what?" she demanded.

"What he is going through…"

She paused for a while, but the heat of the situation got to her. She was not going to be the understanding and forgiving one this time.  
>"I don't care what he is going through. In fact, I have cared enough. I am not going to read his mind and I am not going to compromise."<p>

"You are blowing this whole thing out of proportion." Superman grunted.

"The only reason why Long Shadow retorted was because Bruce snapped at me. He was just standing up for me."

"And you think that Bruce would not stand up for you if needed? Since when did you start bringing your personal life into your professional relationship?"

Diana drew a deep breath and gulped purposefully. She did not reply.

"Listen, Diana," Superman said, "I appreciate your concern towards Long Shadow. But when he is in the team, he has to be one with it. He just cannot run around doing the things the way he wants to."

"That's exactly what Batman does," she muttered.

"And he is never wrong," he said, "I know we don't disagree on that."

She remained silent.

"I am not judging you or him. But I think you are getting too involved with Long Shadow and that is clouding your judgment." He placed a hand over her shoulder, "Think about it."

"Does **he** think the same?" she muttered.

"I don't know, may be." He said, "But I do not want this to repeat."

"What do you not want to be repeated?"

"The little show you two put up in front of everyone."

She nodded curtly.  
>"I'm glad that you are not taking his side this time."<p>

"I am not taking anyone's side," he said peevishly, "He has his issues to sort out and so do you. So think about it."

He turned around to walk away.

"**_Is he jealous?_**"

He stopped and turned around, bewildered. This conversation was taking a whole new course.

"Is he jealous, Clark?" she pressed, encouraged by his attention.

Superman shook his head in dismay.  
>"Listen to yourself, Diana."<p>

"You didn't answer my question."

"And I am not going to," he said sternly, "I will leave it for you two to settle the matter."

*****************************************************

She was calmer now, calm enough to feel silly about the conversation she had that afternoon. Calm enough to recall Batman's last statement before he walked away, calm enough to remember the pain in his eyes as he walked away. _Clark was right, she shouldn't have brought up the Robins_, she thought, _not the way she implied_.

Sleep eluded her. She recollected the conversation she had with Alfred a few months ago. It was about the Robins, the first Robin, Dick Grayson. Bruce never told her anything about his past life, and it bugged her that he did not trust her enough. She had short interviews with Alfred hence, when Bruce wasn't around. Alfred had told her the circumstances under which Dick Grayson had left his guardian. Bruce was devastated, but he just wouldn't express, or admit. That made the pain even worse for him. He then spoke about Tim Drake, the current Robin, not at a great length though.

She could not hold herself anymore, it was not like her. Bruce was clearly upset about something; she had heard him say that it was his fault. She had to find out what it was.

May be Superman knew.

But no, she wouldn't ask him. She would ask the man himself.

Without further ado, she headed for the Wayne Manor.

****************************************************************

"Ms. Diana is here to see you, Sir." Alfred said.

Bruce wasn't asleep either, but he did not want an intervention.

"Not now, Alfred," he said, "I am trying to sleep."

"How do you intend to sleep?" came Diana's voice.

He sat upright in his bed. The room was dark and he could only make out the silhouettes of Diana and Alfred. He saw Alfred turn around to leave and Diana make her way towards the light switch. She flipped it and the room was flooded with yellow light. He squinted and covered his face.

"She did not really ask for permission, Sir," Alfred smiled inwardly and left them.

"I thought I had asked you to leave me alone," Bruce said, his voice muffled through his fingers.

"You know I couldn't." she said, making her way to his bed. She sat down in one corner. She could feel his eyes boring into hers, but she could not meet them, not yet.

"I had a few questions."

"I know," he said, "Kent asked me to clear them up for you."

She felt ashamed.  
>"I…"<p>

"No." he said bluntly.

"I beg your pardon." She frowned.

"The answer is no. I am not jealous."

She tried to smile but couldn't.  
>"I know." she said weakly. "I didn't come here for that."<p>

"I know." He nodded.

"You know?" she stared.

"I do."

"I…I don't know what to say."

"You can go back home and get some sleep now. I hope I have helped you."

"No, no you haven't," she shook her head; "I still need answers."

"I'm sure it can wait," he said as he pulled the covers over himself. Diana caught them midway and pulled them away.

"No they cannot," she said stolidly.

"Some of us need to sleep," he said with a hint if exasperation.

"And some of us need some help getting to sleep," she said evenly.

He sighed and turned away. And just as she tried to speak again, he put his palm over her mouth. He then brought his face close enough for her to feel his breath.  
>"I had a hard day, Diana," he whispered, "and I do not want any more talk."<p>

She flinched as he came closer and before she knew, his other arm was around her waist and his palm had disappeared from between their faces.

"**_NOT ANOTHER WORD_**," he whispered huskily, as his lips touched hers. And then they were locked for what seemed like eternity.

It was Diana who pulled away first. She was smiling more easily now.  
>"You can't get away with everything by doing that, Mr. Wayne."<p>

"Somehow I feel I have succeeded this time," he smiled impishly, "tell me if I did not."

She blushed.  
>"Well, for tonight, may be."<p>

"Good," he said, "I think we can both sleep easy now."

"I'll get you tomorrow, Bruce," she said as she rose, "_in the watch tower_."

"Good night," he said, trying to draw the sheets on himself again.

"I don't know what is stopping me from punching you in the face," she gestured in mock anger.

"Simple, I'm charming," he smiled. "And do you mind getting the lights for me, please?"

"I'll get _you_ Bruce," she said, as she flipped the switch again, "I'll get you someday." It was difficult to wipe off her smile now. And it was difficult to stay mad at him.

_How do you do this?_

She left the manor; her sense of determination to get answers was fading away. May be she would not have to have this conversation with him after all. She was glad that it was over.


End file.
